Christmas Tree Farm Helps Families Make Memories

Christmas tree farming is becoming a rarer part of American agriculture, but at Riverview Christmas Tree farm on the Iowa, South Dakota border they’re helping keep the tradition alive.

Todd Gannon and wife Shari left the corporate world eight years ago and bought the farm where Todd worked during high school and their family visited annually to cut their own Christmas tree.  "My wife and I were looking for a change. I was on an airplane every week. Just wanted to get back to more localized agriculture."

Gannon says this type of agriculture requires a large amount of hand labor, plus each tree takes eight to ten years before it can be harvested and sold.  "So, we have about 20,000 trees on the farm each year we will harvest or sell between 1000 and 1500 trees and then we come back in the spring with about 3000 new trees just due to the death loss, what's harvested and then also some of the other trees are going to have to get knocked down because they're just not growing real pretty. "

But a tree that’s not pretty to one family may be perfect for the next, and the Gannon says the experience of cutting their own fresh Christmas tree draws customers from hundreds of miles around.  "We're one of the last choose and cut your Christmas tree farms in the area. So, we're kind of the last thing left."

Their goal at Riverview is to help families develop long lasting memories.  Gannon says, "We really specialize in the experience more than just the training and we have family that have been coming out for over 30 years. It's really just a fun experience certain family get out in nature. Enjoy the holidays, Santa Claus is here, wander through the fields and really choose that perfect tree for your family."

The Kuchta family of Tea, South Dakota, has been coming to Riverview for the last 12 years. Lynette Kuchta says they harvest their own tree in honor of her mom. "We decided to start our own tradition once my mom passed away and so this is our tradition that we come out and we pick a tree and actually my grandkids get to pick it so we get all sorts of different kinds of trees every year."

And she says even the physical harvesting of the tree is a tradition that’s being handed down from generation to generation. "Kind of the guys rotate who actually does the sawing and so it started my husband was doing it and now my son has taken that over and eventually it will be my grandson."

Once the tree is cut the Kuchta family heads off to have the staff process the tree for transport.   Gannon explains, "So you bring the tree up and any of the past year’s growth has died off inside the tree will be shaken out. We'll also drill the hole for a stand, and we sell stands.  Then they run it through a nursery kind of bag which is a nice easy to transport unit."

The Kuchta’s cap the day off with cider, hot chocolate and holiday goodies at the lodge and their annual family Christmas photo.  A day of Christmas memories home made in the country.